BlockBefore

Forbestown, California

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Feather Falls census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95941. It lies near Mosquito Gulch. The Survey maps it on the Forbestown quadrangle. 396 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,772 feet above sea level.

Forbestown within Butte County

Then and now

1888 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 106 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Forbestown, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Forbestown, surveyed 1888

Compare 1888 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Forbestown grew from 320 to 396 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010320
2020396+76 (+24%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 27 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

296 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 296 fires within 5 miles of Forbestown between 1992 and 2020, burning about 5,316 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 30 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined111
Debris and open burning60
Equipment and vehicle use46
Arson/incendiarism30
Natural13
Misuse of fire by a minor10
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Recreation and ceremony8
Smoking5
Other causes1
Fireworks1
Railroad operations and maintenance1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 1995Debris and open burningunder an acreButte UnitMERCY
8 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionFRENCHTOWN RD / WILLOW GL
5 September 1993Arson/incendiarismunder an acrePlumas National ForestDIGGER
5 September 1992Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreButte UnitGREEN
4 September 2016Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionFORBESTOWN
4 September 2009Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitREED
3 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionGREEN
3 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictSHEILA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Butte County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 161 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 161 workings within 5 miles of Forbestown: 58 past producers, 51 unknowns, 45 occurrences, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Chromium, Silver, Manganese. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Butte Co Pine and Hardwood CoAsbestosUnknown
Carlisle MineGold, Copper, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Gold
Forbestown Consolidated Gold MinesGold, Silver, CopperPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Gold
Gold Bank Consolidated QuartzGold, Silver, CopperProducer
Gold Bank Consolidated QuartzGold, Copper, SilverOccurrence
Horse ShoeGold, Copper, Silver, LeadPast ProducerVein
HorseshoeGold, Silver, CopperOccurrence
Mooretown MarbleLimestone, Dimension, Marble, DimensionUnknown
New York Flat PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
P.U.P.MineChromium, IronPast Producer1915

Every working recorded in Butte County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Old Forbestown1.0 miles27
Robinson Mills3.2 miles26
Oroleve4.7 miles29
Feather Falls5.3 miles27
Enterprise (historical)5.3 miles27
Clipper Mills5.9 miles29
Hurleton6.5 miles25
Craig (historical)6.7 miles29

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ForbestownAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5467292The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1656023. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.